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Catholic Church Opposed Gay Marriage, Gay Adoption; Pakistan Government Says They've Captured an American High-level al Qaeda; Business Trash Becomes Treasures to L.A. Schools; Urban Prep Academy Students Defy the Odds; American Al Qaeda Arrested?; Iraqis Defy Violence, Head to Polls; Catholic Charities Cuts Benefits

Aired March 07, 2010 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, has an American working with al Qaeda been arrested in Pakistan? Pakistani officials say he has, but some U.S. officials say there's no validity to the reports. CNN investigates.

Iraqis go to the polls. President Barack Obama is praising them. Could this be the turning point for American combat troops to come home permanently?

And, a big Catholic non-profit takes drastic measures to deny health insurance for same-sex couples. We talk to an influential priest about the controversial decision.

And you learned about the Little Obamas right here after the election. Students from some of Chicago's worst neighborhoods made a promise to make it to college. Did they keep it? We ask them live this hour.

Good evening, everyone.

We begin with the breaking news out of Pakistan, where there are conflicting reports tonight whether one of the most despised Americans in the world has been captured. A senior Pakistani government official tells CNN Adam Gadahn has been arrested in Pakistan, but U.S. officials caution they have no confirmation that Gadahn is in custody.

Now, a few years ago, Gadahn was just a young man from California involved in rock music and looking for meaning in life. Then, he converted to Islam. Somehow, Gadahn emerged as a high-profile English-speaking spokesman for al Qaeda. He's appeared in numerous videos, taunting U.S. forces and vowing violence against his fellow Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM GADAHN, AMERICAN MEMBER OF AL QAEDA: You and your people will, Allah willing, experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11th, Afghanistan and Iraq and Virginia Tech.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, just today, he appeared in a Web video praising alleged Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan as a role model for other Muslims. It is a sort of a treasonous -- treacherous, I should say, taunt that has earned Gadahn a place on the FBI's most wanted list.

So, let's talk more about this. CNN's Reza Sayah is in Islamabad and former military intelligence officer Ken Robinson in Los Angeles tonight. Both are here to explain what we know about this alleged capture and what happens next.

Reza, let's start with you. Pakistani officials are saying it is Gadahn, but U.S. officials say they're not sure it's him. What's going on?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don, we should point out from the outset that this arrest was confirmed by a senior Pakistani government official. U.S. officials have yet to confirm the arrest of Adam Gadahn. In fact, earlier on Sunday, we were eager to see if President Barack Obama would comment on his arrest when he made some comments about the Iraqi elections at the White House. He did not, but according to a senior Pakistani government official, indeed, Adam Gadahn, the American citizen who went on to join al Qaeda, has been arrested in the southern port city of Karachi -- a city that has been increasingly becoming a hideout for high-ranking militants.

Over the past five or six weeks, we've had at least six senior Afghan Taliban leaders arrested in Karachi. And now, of course, it's Gadahn. Gadahn -- a remarkable and very bizarre story, 31 years old, born in California, goes on to join al Qaeda, and essentially becomes their mouth piece. Ever since 2004, based on our count, we've seen at least nine videotaped messages released by Adam Gadahn.

It's not clear if this is a coincidence, but as you mentioned before, his latest videotape surfacing on Sunday. In this videotape, he's urging Muslims in the west, Muslims in America, to wage jihad against America, and he cites the Fort Hood shooter as a perfect example of a good Muslim. He went on to Pakistan in 1998, married an Afghan woman, joined al Qaeda, charged with treason in 2006.

LEMON: So, Reza --

SAYAH: A $1 million reward was offered by Washington and now in custody, according to a Pakistani official -- Don.

LEMON: So, Reza, I want to get Ken Robinson in here -- because, Ken, here's a question if indeed was him. They said he was he's arrested -- as Reza said -- in Karachi, in the southern city there. Will he be turned over if it is indeed him, or whoever it is, to the U.S. -- to U.S. custody?

KEN ROBINSON, FMR. MILITARY INTELLIGENCE OFC.: Well, the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence service, and the United States government have been cooperating much closer since the government of Pakistan realized that the Taliban was a threat to their regime. And since the killing of the CIA agents on the border with a suicide bomber, they are aggressively pursuing this, and they are cooperating. I cannot imagine why they would not cooperate jointly in an interrogation if they actually have him.

There's a huge information component of value with this guy because he is the English component to jihad, and that jihad message is global, and it's leaderless. The guys like Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, Jose Padilla, the dirty bomber -- those people are being tapped and recruited from a global jihad effort that starts on the Internet.

LEMON: So, listen, you know, as Reza said, several al Qaeda members, Taliban members, have either been arrested or were killed, that's at least according to intelligence. Does this mean then that the U.S. or NATO forces are making some progress against al Qaeda, Ken?

ROBINSON: Well, they definitely are. Just since the Pakistani assaults in the Northwest Frontier Province and the Helmand River Valley in Afghanistan, there has been an enormous amount of Taliban leaders on both the Afghan and Pakistan side of the border who were either shadow governors or were actual commanders who have been captured since January around the 20th, an enormous amount. And they are systematically picking off the top leaders and then working their way down.

But their effort is to take the Taliban off the battlefield and kill al Qaeda. They want to negotiate with the Taliban, but to do that first, they have to make them understand that they can run but they can't hide.

LEMON: Reza, what do we make of the timing here of the Islamist Web site, this video being released today, and the alleged capture of Adam Gadahn?

SAYAH: Well, again, as I mentioned before, it's unclear whether this is simply a coincidence or if the release of this videotape -- this videotaped message was linked to his arrest.

Back on the subject you were talking about with Ken these arrests, I've been here in Pakistan for more than two years, Don. I have never seen this type of winning streak by Pakistani security forces against high-ranking militants, big names in al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban. Again, in Karachi, at least six senior Taliban leaders arrested. You have Gadahn being arrested and then you have the U.S. drone strikes taking out the leaders of the Pakistani Taliban. That's not going to happen, according to both the U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials, if there's not intelligence from the ground. So, a remarkable success story over the past couple of months here with Pakistan in its fight against militants.

LEMON: And, Reza, everything that you're mentioning here, it's a good time to bring in our Nic Robertson who joins us from London. And Nic has been reporting on this extensively.

Nic, so, here -- again, here's a question. We are getting conflicting reports here. According to Pakistani officials, Nic, this is indeed Adam Gadahn. According to some U.S. officials, they don't -- they say there's no confirmation that it's him. What are we to believe here? Is it just -- do we -- are they waiting for this to play out, U.S. officials, to confirm this?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it may be, of course, that they are not privy to what the Pakistani authorities have done, and they may also want to try and, if you will, bury the arrest somewhat because, obviously, one of the great things about an arrest is, if you can keep a news blackout on it, then you can get some advantage because any information you get can help lead you to other people who may not be expecting to be arrested. So, that may be one analysis.

The other analysis that would be useful to apply here would be that in Pakistan, there are a lot of very, very competitive news outlets and information may have been linked by local security officials in Karachi to one of these outlets. Somebody may have misheard a name that gets passed up the chain and a normally very reliable source is given bad information.

It's the middle of the night in Pakistan. I think when daylight comes, we can certainly expect some more clarification. So, that's a possibility as well. We should really wait longer to see exactly where the truth lies here and what exactly the confusion is. But there could be any number of reasons that we have a discrepancy at this time.

LEMON: All right. Nic Robertson is our senior international correspondent, Ken Robinson is a former military intelligence officer, and Reza Sayah, our correspondent in Islamabad. Thank you very much.

CNN will continue to drill down on this. Again, Adam Gadahn believed to be arrested in Pakistan. Pakistani officials saying it is him, U.S. officials saying they have no confirmation. Stay tuned to CNN for more on this.

Election day attacks don't deter Iraqi voters. We'll take you to Baghdad for the latest on the crucial nationwide vote for parliament.

And here in the U.S., a Chicago school student earned the nickname "Little Obama" -- 100 percent of their seniors are headed to college. The school's founder and two of its students will tell us how they did it.

Also, be a part of our conversation tonight. Make sure you logon to Twitter, Facebook or iReport. We'll get your comments on the air.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Iraqi voters are using ballots today to battle insurgents. Millions of people went to the polls in just the fifth nationwide election since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. In an attempt to intimidate voters, militants carried out dozens of attacks around the country, including Baghdad, and at least three dozen people were killed.

Brett McGurk served on the National Security Council staff for both President Obama and former President George W. Bush, working on U.S. policy for both Iraq and Afghanistan. Qubad Talabani also joins us me. He is a U.S. representative for Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government. He's also the son of Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani.

Thank you both so much for joining us. Listen, being the son of Mr. Talabani, how are you feeling about the elections today?

QUBAD TALABANI, SON. OF IRAQI PRES. JALAL TALABANI: I'm very excited. The news is there was a very good turnout throughout Iraq, but in particular, in the Kurdistan region. It shows that people were braving the violence and they cast their votes and hopefully will get the politics right now.

LEMON: Was the violence less than feared, or was it, what -- right on target with what people had feared? And is it a good sign that Iraqi forces can secure the country without U.S. help? Mr. McGurk?

BRETT MCGURK, FMR. NATL. SECURITY COUNCIL STAFFER: It's a very good sign. The last time we had an election like this was four years ago. We had 116,000 U.S. troops deployed throughout Iraq and in the cities. Now, we're about 95,000 troops. We're on base. We're not out in the cities.

This election was entirely run by the Iraqis, oversight by the U.N. And today was a good day. But I, you know, agreed with my friend Qubad. The next -- the next 90 days will be a very volatile period as the politics come together because the Iraqis -- they are electing a party coalition. And so, it's going to take at least two, three, maybe four coalitions to form a government. And it's going to be a very interesting 90 days.

LEMON: You said two, three, four coalitions to form a government. So, how long? What are we looking at in terms of time?

MCGURK: Well, I would say, certainly, President Obama said that it's going to take not weeks but months. That's certainly right. We can look to the past not to predict the future, but we can learn from it. In the December 2005 elections, of course, it took almost six months to form a government, and the violence broke out about nine weeks after the election -- when we had the terrible bombing at a Samarra mosque and then the retaliatory attacks.

So, you know, we just have to be very careful over the next 90 days. We'll start to know results in the next two or three days. It won't be official for a couple of weeks, and then the parties will come together to negotiate.

LEMON: Mr. Talabani, do you think that this government will differ significantly from the old government -- meaning concerns about maybe being more conservative, more religious?

TALABANI: I think the most important thing about this government is how it abides by the constitution of the country. That is really going to determine whether or not Iraq will be sent on the right path or not. The constitution is the law of the land. It settles most of the internal disputes.

This government is going to have an enormous challenge on its hands, not only managing a transition U.S. military from Iraq, but also to try to resolve some of the outstanding political issues facing Iraq. LEMON: All right. Thank you. Qubad Talabani, thank you so much. Brett McGurk as well. Appreciate you spending your Sunday evening with us.

TALABANI: Thank you.

LEMON: Pakistan reports capturing a high-profile member of al Qaeda, an American. If true, it could be a huge break in the U.S. war on terror. But U.S. authorities have not confirmed it. More on what we do know -- straight ahead here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We'll take a look at some of your top stories right now.

General David Petraeus says he will tell Congress that overturning the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is something that can be worked through. The head of Central Command told CNN, today, the military has been studying the experiences of other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly. He says the key is finding policies that are sensible and pragmatic.

Today, hundreds of people gathered in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate what has become known as Bloody Sunday. On this day 45 years ago, civil rights marchers were savagely beaten by state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The event galvanized a civil rights movement and eventually led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

More than 3 million viewers in parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut may miss the Oscars tonight if two entertainment giants can't end their feud in time. Cablevision charges customers to get basic networks like ABC. Well, ABC's owner, Disney, says it should get a piece of that revenue to the tune of $40 million a year. Cablevision says no. So, for now, its customers aren't getting the local ABC affiliate.

Kicked out of Catholic school for having two moms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoever discriminates against them, that's not the reality. The reality is, they are a family, and nobody can say differently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Why a pre-school is becoming a battleground over same-sex relationships.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In Boulder, Colorado, the family of a preschooler at a Catholic school has been informed the child will not be allowed to attend next year because the child's parents are lesbians. The archdiocese says the women's sexual orientation is at odds with church doctrine, so their child is not eligible to attend the school. In nation's capital, same-sex couples can legally get married starting on Tuesday. And the Catholic Church is fighting back. Rather than agree to provide health care benefits to same-sex couples who work for the Catholic charities, the non-profit says it will not provide health insurance to any spouses, straight or gay.

CNN's Kate Bolduan has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Same-sex couples in Washington can legally marry in the district starting Tuesday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're very excited.

BOLDUAN: But even before the first couple walks down the aisle, there's controversial fallout from the city's decision. Catholic Charities, the social services arm of the archdiocese of Washington, just announced it will no longer offer health benefits to spouses of any new employees or current employees who aren't already covered under its plan. As a result, the non-profit is effectively avoiding having to give benefits to same-sex partners, keeping with the church's opposition to same-sex marriage.

(on camera): How long have you and your partner been together?

CHRIS HINKLE, GAY CATHOLIC ACTIVIST: We've been together for 10 years.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Chris Hinkle is gay and a practicing Catholic. He lives in Virginia and worships in Washington. Hinkle views the developments in D.C. as two steps forward and quickly two steps back for the gay and lesbian community and its strained relationship with the Catholic Church.

(on camera): Why is it disappointing to you?

HINKLE: It's a slap in the face, yes. It's prejudice.

BOLDUAN: Catholic Charities declined to comment, but the archdiocese of Washington made a point to say that less than 10 percent of Catholic Charities' employees take part in its health insurance program suggesting that a small portion of the staff will be affected by the change in policy.

(voice-over): And in a statement, the archdiocese says, "This approach allows Catholic Charities to continue to provide services to the 68,000 people it now cares for in the city, to comply with the city's new requirements, and to remain faithful to our Catholic identity."

A stance some say is damaging the church's public image.

CHRIS KORZEN, DIRECTOR, CATHOLICS UNITED: They are getting a view from the church that isn't necessarily consistent with our values. We don't say people who don't deserve health insurance because they happen to be in a certain kind of marriage or a certain kind of relationship. That's just not what we teach.

BOLDUAN: The very same message Chris Hinkle is trying to send as he fights for acceptance.

HINKLE: I want people to treat others with justice. That is a message that I think Jesus Christ himself had exemplified.

BOLDUAN (on camera): And in today's world, you think that applies to health care as well as the right to marry?

HINKLE: Absolutely it does. Absolutely.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Let's bring in now Father Thomas Reese. He has spoken out against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. He's a Jesuit priest and a senior fellow at Georgetown University Woodstock Theological Center, and he is joining us now from Washington.

Thank you and good to see you, Father.

I have to ask you. What do you make of this by Catholic Charities?

REV. THOMAS REESE, WOODSTOCK THEOLOGICAL CTR., GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, I mean, obviously, Catholic Charities would like to have health care for all of its employees and their spouses, but they were caught. The city council has told them that if they are going to have contracts to serve the poor in the District of Columbia, then they have to provide benefits to gay spouses if they provide benefits to heterosexual married spouses.

So, this is something that the city council has done. It's changed the rules so that now the diocese simply is making this decision so that it can continue to serve the poor in the district.

LEMON: So, are you saying that the church is being backed into the corner by the city?

REESE: Well, yes. I mean, up until last year, there was no problem. Then the city council changed the rules, and the archbishop made it very clear that this was a matter of principle. You know, when a religious leader says this is a matter of principle, you know, he's going to stick to his guns. And it's not a fight he wanted to be in, but it's a fight where the city council threw the first blow, and the diocese had to respond and say, OK. We still want to help the poor, but we can't have benefits for gay spouses.

It's interesting. They are not saying they are not going to hire gays. They are not going to say they are going to fire anybody who gets married under this law. You know, they are not discriminating in terms of employment here.

LEMON: But they are discriminating against a group of people because this policy before that, you know, heterosexual couples could get spousal benefits and now, that the city is saying they won't do it for anyone. I mean, this is a reason for them to change their rules. You can't say it's not discrimination because they are discriminating against a certain group of people.

REESE: Well, that's not the way the archbishop of Washington sees it. He sees this as a matter of principle, that the Catholic Church is teaching on gay marriage is contrary --

LEMON: So, people should suffer because of a principle, because someone is saying, oh, it's a matter of principle so someone who may have a spouse who needs health insurance or maybe ill, they should suffer because of that.

REESE: People are suffering because the city council refused to give an exemption here for the archdiocese of Washington. You know, they could have even simply said, you know, OK, let's exempt them for a couple of years and then let's take this issue up again later when people have cooled off. When there's a time, to you know, let emotions get -- you know, get to a calmer level and then maybe we can work something out, find -- trying to find some common ground. But the city council wasn't interested in any compromise either on this.

LEMON: Has this affected anything like adoption or any other services that they -- that Catholic Charities does?

REESE: Yes. Catholic Charities in Washington, D.C., like Catholic Charities in the state of Massachusetts, has had to go out of the adoption business.

It's interesting. I mean, Catholic Charities have allowed gay people to adopt children for years. This has not been an issue, but it is an issue for the bishops when it is a gay, married couple that is coming in to do the adoption. And so the -- the church has had to get out of the adoption business in the District of Columbia and in the state of Massachusetts and turned over the work to other agencies.

LEMON: One viewer wrote to me, what about, you know, hate the sinner, or hate the sin, love the sinner?

REESE: Well, I mean, you know, the Catholic Church teaches that all god's children are loved by him, whether they are gay, whether they are heterosexual or what, but the Catholic church also teaches that sex outside of marriage is wrong.

LEMON: Is wrong.

REESE: Whether it's gay couples or heterosexual couples.

LEMON: I want to ask you about this, because just before we did this story we reported on Boulder, Colorado, a pre-schooler that has two mothers, two lesbians, not being allowed to go to a school there. What do you make of that?

REESE: Well, I mean, Catholic schools have been educating Catholics and non-Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, atheists. We educate people whose parents are saints and children whose parents are sinners. I don't see why this is a big deal.

I think that, you know, the focus should be on educating children, and I think these kind of regulations are counterproductive.

LEMON: OK. Thank you, Father Thomas Reese. We really appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much.

REESE: Sure.

We're reporting on a tantalizing report out of Pakistan that a high- level American in al Qaeda has been captured, but is it true? What we do know is straight ahead.

And later, we'll get a live report from the man's hometown in California to see what people there are saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Want to check your top stories for you right now. A senior Pakistani official says an American member of al Qaeda has been arrested in Pakistan, but U.S. officials caution that's not been confirmed. The American, Adam Gadahn, grew up in California and was accused of treason. Most Americans recognize him for his high-profile inflammatory web videos condemning the U.S. and praising the 9/11 attackers. Live report from Gadahn's hometown in California coming up.

A bus company involved in a deadly wreck this past week is now shut down. A Tierra Santa bus flipped over in Arizona Friday and killed six passengers. Tierra Santa was operating illegally and a federal court ordered the company to shut down. No word yet on whether there will be any charges for Friday's crash.

Unwelcome news at the pump. The average price of gas jumped nearly ten cents per gallon in just two weeks. Blame a spike in crude oil prices. Self-serve regular will now set you back $2.37 a gallon on average. That's 76 cents higher than a year ago. The cheapest gas is in Cheyenne, Wyoming, $2.47 a gallon. and Honolulu was the most expensive, $3.33 a gallon.

Jacqui Jeras, if you're driving across the country and, hopefully, some good weather coming soon, it's going to cost you more.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. That summer travel season right around the corner, spring break.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Can we get the warmth but not the high gas prices.

JERAS: I know. It would be a good begin air, wouldn't it.

LEMON: Yes.

JERAS: Unfortunately.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: And same thing here. I keep telling them, like when you're talking, and I'm doing this, like turn off my mic so can I sniffle. That's what I've been doing. It's going around.

JERAS: Sniffle. Got to be done. You're not alone.

LEMON: All right. We're in good company. Thank you, Jacqui. Appreciate it.

JERAS: Sure.

LEMON: Business trash is becoming educational treasure in Los Angeles. Casey Wian shows us how one charity is building up America by diverting millions of dollars worth of office supplies from land fills to classrooms.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Neesa McNabb (ph) is celebrating her birthday by standing in this line to go shopping. But she's not shopping for herself, it's for students and teachers at Aguilar High School where she's assistant principal.

NEESA MCNABB (ph), TEACHER: At 10 a.m., we'll give the direction.

These are things that students don't have. If they get new stuff, they know that we care about them.

WIAN (on camera): Why is it necessary to come here to get supplies?

ELISE ZIMMERMAN, TEACHER: Well, right now, there's a budget freeze in L.A., unified, and they are not hiring new teachers. No money at all for supplies, so any supplies that we need we have to pay for out of our own pocket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

MCNABB (ph): How many of these can I take? Unlimited. Oh, yes.

I'll take colored. I don't care. This is so hard to come by.

WIAN: Why is paper so hard to come by?

MCNABB (ph): Because it's so expensive.

WIAN: Tell me about L.A. Shares. What's this organization all about?

BERT BALL, L.A. SHARES: We're a non-profit materials program. It means we go out to the corporate sector every day and say, politely, what do you have that's left over new or used? We arrange for the transfers to our local schools and not-for-profits.

DEBI RICKETTS, LIBRARIAN: Amazing, looking at all the tags and saying, wow, these people, that was really nice.

WIAN: When you get this stuff back to school, how quickly will it be use in the classroom?

MCNABB (ph): Tomorrow. Oh, is that the exit?

WIAN: This box of envelopes was donated by a southern California animation company called Renegade Animation. They have recently moved, so they have donated their old office supplies and some furniture to L.A. Shares.

ASHLEY POSTLEWAITE, RENEGADE ANIMATION: One big thing we had tons of was binders. You need binders for paper and now we don't need it anymore so we've got boxes full of empty binders. We thought we'd -- we can't throw this stuff away. We don't feel good about it.

WIAN: Companies can bring their unwanted or unneeded office supplies here to the L.A. Shares facility or donate online and the organization will come to the company and pick up the stuff.

BALL: We're a trash program, a waste program, waste diversion. If the items didn't come to us, they would have gone to the landfill.

On an annualized basic, we keep about a million pounds out of the landfill. Of course, it grows each other.

WIAN: Here are several shelves full of metal organizers donated by the Walt Disney Company. And over here, three palettes full of labels donated by the Avery Company. And for teachers who need something to brighten up their classroom a little bit, there's even fine art.

MCNABB (ph): At Fredrickson's (ph), there was all this scrapbooking material there. Some of the supplies will save her a lot of money.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we have here?

Oh, look at these, you guys. These are the best.

MCNABB (ph): And when students see that businesses are giving to them right now, they are going to be much more willing to go out into the community and give back when they are in that position.

WIAN: Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Back to our breaking news now. The reported arrest of an American member of al Qaeda, a senior Pakistani official says the man in custody is American Adam Gadahn, a high-profile spokesman for al Qaeda. But U.S. officials say they haven't confirmed his identity. Gadahn is wanted for treason and has spent the past several years on the FBI's most wanted list.

Let's go to CNN's Thelma Gutierrez in Orange County, California, where Gadahn grew up and his family still lives. She is joining us by phone.

What have you learned? THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, I can tell you that we've called out to his aunt, Nancy Perlman. We've not yet heard from her. But we did talk to the vice chairman of the Islamic Center of Orange County. His name is Hysan Bondatchi (ph). Now this is the center where Adam Gadahn actually made his conversion to Islam. He told me that, quite frankly, he was surprised to learn that there were reports of his capture, because he thought he was dead for the last two years. He said there have been so many conflicting reports as to whether or not Adam Gadahn has been captured, what has actually happened to him. And he said he was actually surprised to find out that these reports were out that he had been captured.

But he did say that they welcome it. He talked to many of the people at the Islamic Center and within this community, and he said people here actually welcome the news, because the types of things that Adam Gadahn has been saying in the past few years and what he stands for, he's not made life any easier for Muslims who live in the West.

LEMON: Yes.

GUTIERREZ: He says, you know, this guy does not speak for us, and he is not one of us.

LEMON: Yes.

GUTIERREZ: And that is exactly what he said.

LEMON: I was going to ask you if they were paying attention to the news reports, and obviously they are. But the family says, at left check, Thelma, they haven't heard from Adam Gadahn, which is Adam Perlman really, since 2002.

GUTIERREZ: Yes, that's correct. You know, it's not surprising, because he knew that officials were after him. And so they say that basically the trail in California went cold, Don. And I can tell you that from talking to the folks out of the Islamic Center, they say that the last sighting of Adam Gadahn here in California was back in 1997 as far as they are concerned. So that was more than 13 years ago.

Now, they have not received any phone calls. They have not spoken to the family, but they say that they had a falling out back in '97, and that's the last that they had heard of him.

LEMON: Thelma Gutierrez, thank you. Just one of our correspondents on top of this story. We appreciate it, Thelma.

They had every reason not to make it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are the future. You are going to be standing up here. You're going to be somewhere in the world making an effect in someone else's lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: But the young men graduating from the Urban Prep Academy in Chicago have defied the odds. 100 percent of their class have an opportunity to go to college. I spent some time with these young men. They are truly exceptional, and you're going to get to meet them, a few of them, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tonight, the 82nd annual Academy Awards at Hollywood's Kodak Theater. The red carpet is unrolled and the sky just opened up. The rain was pouring down there.

You better believe our entertainment correspondent -- and we should call her intrepid now, speaking of the rain. She wouldn't miss this for the world.

Hey, let's look at the rain real quick. Hey, Brooke, all I have to say is, who says it never rains in southern California?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Whoever says that lied, Don. They lied.

(LAUGHTER)

It has been raining on and off. But we do have a little bit of a break right now. Actually, the red carpet is tented to protect the carpet, to protect the celebrities and their gowns worth thousands and thousands of dollars. You know they have people, Don, to hold umbrellas just in case. They have an entourage. They've got peeps, so they're protected one way or another.

It's very, very exciting. I spoke to Monique, who is nominated for her role in "Precious." She's going to win, hands down, no doubt about it. I saw Mariah Carey. We're waiting for George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, also Jeff Bridges. This is a really exciting night. Don, in about five minutes, we're going to kick off our live coverage with our red carpet show, "Showbiz Road to Gold."

LEMON: I can't wait to see it. I'll be watching. We have to wait for George. We've got to wait for -- look at you hob-knobbing with the stars.

Brooke, we'll be watching. Thank you so much. Stay dry. Have a great time, OK?

ANDERSON: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: We're going to talk about our focus on education tonight, centered on remarkable charter school whose founder had a unique vision for higher and quality vision. Please watch this story. It's going to inspire you and children all over.

I spent time with the students of Chicago's Urban Prep Academy the morning after a very significant event in their lives.

Look at this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (voice-over): This is when I first met the young men of Urban Prep. An Obama rap song comes on. 450 boys go crazy.

(RAPPING)

LEMON: It was the morning after President Obama's election when I sat down with some of the students.

(on camera): They're calling you little Obamas. What do you think of that? Are you a little Obama?

UNIDENTIFIED URBAN PREP STUDENT: me, personally, I think we are little Obamas. Like he made change, we're making change, going to an all-boys school trying to get to the places he's been, that's college.

LEMON: College is now attainable for 57 percent of the students here.

In 2006, when the school opened only 4 percent could read at grade level. Founder Tim King says much of if can be attributed to Barack Obama.

TIM KING, FOUNDER, URBAN PREP ACADEMY: The whole Time when we went down to watch him announce he was running, all the way through to him winning last night, there's been an incredible amount of enthusiasm and energy.

LEMON: According to King, in many ways, these students are becoming the teachers, literally writing their own future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was one of the most amazing stories I ever did. There they are.

Smile, guys. You have every reason to be happy. Your parents are looking at you, all your friends. You better smile and look good.

Tim King, see him there? He's on the left. He's the founder and CEO of Urban Prep Academy. With Tim, seniors, RayVaughn Hynes and Marlon Marshall.

Congratulations to both of you.

KING: Thank you.

RAYVAUGHN HYNES, STUDENT, URBAN PREP ACADEMY: Thanks.

MARLON MARSHALL, STUDENT, URBAN PREP ACADEMY: Thanks.

LEMON: 100 percent of Urban Prep seniors have been admitted to a four-year college or university. Very exciting.

We talk about education, Tim, and we talk about, you know the disparities in education, how expensive it is, the problems children have. You're doing something remarkable there. So congratulations.

Tim, I'm going to talk to you.

But I want to ask RayVaughn, first, where have you been accepted, sir?

HYNES: There are various colleges I have been accepted to. There were ten schools but I chose one already and it is Morehouse College.

LEMON: You're coming to my neck of the woods. I'm going to keep an eye on you. If you mess up, I'm going to call Mr. King and he's going to come down here and take care of it.

KING: That's right. Real fast.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Mr. Marshall, Marlon Marshall, where have you been accepted?

MARSHALL: I've been accepted to eight colleges. I'm waiting on my top choice, Georgetown University.

LEMON: So eight colleges. Ten and eight. You're waiting to hear.

You want to go to Georgetown, is that correct, RayVaughn?

HYNES: Yes, sir.

LEMON: You're going to study political science. You're the one in the group who said you wanted to be a politician. Did you say you wanted to be president?

(LAUGHTER)

HYNES: Yes, sir, I did.

LEMON: You did. We'll see.

You know what, Tim, after that, it was interesting, because your creed says we believe. And when I got there and saw the kids, I said, you know, look at them, they're all dressed up in their little ties. They look like little Obamas. And it stuck.

KING: Right. Sure did. We always knew from the very beginning we wanted to start this school, that the goal here was to create an institution that was going to prepare these guys to go to college, not just get through high school, but to get into college and get through college. And, you know, we couldn't be prouder of the fact that here we are, four years later, our first graduating class, and 100 percent of them have been admitted to four-year colleges and universities. It's really unprecedented in public education to have this type of achievement this early in the school year. It's just March and these guys already have multiple options for higher education, for college. It's terrific.

LEMON: There's something to learn from, I'm sure, everyone who's listening, every school district around the country. What do you want them to take from you? Would you let them call and talk to you about how you're succeeding and what they can do?

KING: Yes, absolutely. Many school districts do. We get calls from all over the country, in fact, all over the world. Folks from London, England, called, asking us how we do it. Really, for us, it's about creating a culture and climate in which college is important. It's the focus and we make the students realize, if they work hard, it's attainable.

LEMON: RayVaughn, did you believe -- as I said, that's part of your creed, starts with, we believe. Did you believe when you first started attending Urban Prep that you could get to this point?

HYNES: To be honest, I didn't. The reason being is because I had trouble in a few of my classes, which, in my mind, I was thinking maybe college or high school isn't for me. But over the years, I started getting help from teachers and from my teammates in track and field, which is Marlon Marshall. He's been pushing me. So now I believe. I definitely believe.

LEMON: Yes. And your friend and mentor is sitting next to you.

Marlon, did you believe?

MARSHALL: I always believed college would happen to me. I just didn't know where I would be going and I didn't know about that life. So I was always kind of stuck trying to find answers to questions I was always asking about college.

LEMON: Here's what I noticed. The day after the election, I came to visit you guys. You said the creed and, you know, Mr. King said, they have never said it with that much enthusiasm before. And a year later, I visited you guys. You said it, but it wasn't quite the same. So, we are happy for you. Congratulations.

I'm going it ask you to say your creed live to the world. We're going to check on you in four years to see how you're doing then. Let's do the Urban Prep creed. It starts with "We believe."

GROUP: We believe we are the young men of Urban Prep. We are college bound. We are exceptional not because we say it but because we work hard at it. We will not fault in the face of any obstacles placed before us. We're dedicated, committed and focused. We never succumb to mediocrity, uncertainty or fear. We never fail because we never give up. We make no excuses. We choose to live honestly, not violently. We respect ourselves and, in doing so, respect our people. We have future to which we are accountable. We have a responsibility to our families, communities and world. We are our brothers' keepers. We believe in ourselves, we believe in each other, we believe in Urban Prep. And we believe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Thank you all.

I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for watching. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. eastern.